The United States has deployed weapons in space and will use them to defend American forces, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said, in what is being described as the first public acknowledgment of such capabilities in orbit and a deliberate signal to potential adversaries in that domain.
Meink made the announcement at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference, an annual event organized by the Air and Space Forces Association in National Harbor, Maryland. He said the United States continues to make sure it remains ready to face constantly evolving threats wherever they exist, and that this is why the country now has space control weapons in orbit capable of defending joint forces against hostile actions by adversaries.
First Public Acknowledgment
Meink did not provide specific details about the weapons and declined to give further information when asked. It is not known when the weapons were placed in orbit.
President Donald Trump has praised the Space Force, which he created in 2019 as a branch of the Air Force, calling it a historic step to strengthen US defense capabilities amid a growing arms race in which China and Russia challenge American dominance in space.
Rivalry With China and Russia
According to the US Space Force's own website, China develops and operates space and counterspace capabilities as part of a military modernization strategy, while Russia views space as a warfighting domain and believes that space supremacy will be a decisive factor in future conflicts.
US military officials have repeatedly warned that both countries are testing new offensive capabilities in space. They have cited examples such as training missions involving Russian satellite constellations that, according to Washington, could demonstrate attack and defense tactics for future combat, as well as China's development of a nuclear-capable, partial-orbit hypersonic missile.
Fears Over a Space-Based Nuclear Weapon
As CNN reported in 2024, US intelligence suggests Russia has also worked to develop a space-based nuclear weapon that would use a massive burst of energy, known as an electromagnetic pulse, to potentially destroy large numbers of commercial and government satellites. Moscow has denied the claim.
A weapon of that kind could have wide and devastating impacts, for example by destabilizing satellites the world relies on to forecast weather and respond to disasters, or by disrupting global navigation systems used for everything from banking and cargo transport to ride-hailing apps and ambulance dispatch.
CNN said it had contacted the Space Force for comment.
Legal Gray Area in Space
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction from being placed in orbit, but it does not prohibit the use of conventional weapons in space or the use of ground-based weapons against targets in space, leaving room for interpretation.
Last December, Trump signed an executive order describing US superiority in space as a measure of national vision and willpower. The order emphasized developing next-generation missile defense technology and ensuring the ability to neutralize threats, including what it called any placement of nuclear weapons in space.
Trump's 'Golden Dome' Missile Shield
The executive order was a step toward Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense system, an ambitious, multibillion-dollar plan inspired by Israel's Iron Dome that officials say would allow the United States to intercept missiles from anywhere in the world.
The United States has remained vague about its plans for developing the missile shield, which Trump has said he hopes will be completed by 2028. As CNN has previously reported, the Pentagon has scheduled its first major test for just before the 2028 election, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
In his remarks on Monday, Meink also said a US space interceptor program had gone from initial contract to flight-ready hardware in under a year, without giving further details.
